Kip Kinkel’s attorney says he’s disappointed by today’s Oregon Supreme Court’s decision to uphold his client’s 112-year sentence. As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, there’s a few more recourses Kinkel’s defense may pursue.
Portland Attorney Andy Simrin says a federal habeus corpus case that had been paused during the state Supreme Court review can now resume, which would review whether his client’s detention is lawful. They can also add arguments from Miller v. Alabama, a 2012 United States Supreme Court case that deemed lifetime imprisonment for juveniles was unconstitutional. Furthermore…
“We can file what’s a petition for a Writ of Certiorari," says Simrin. "It’s like an application to get the case directly into the U.S. Supreme Court.
"And if you’ve got a good federal issue that they haven’t written on before, then there is some chance that they may be interested.”
Simrin declined to share Kinkel’s response to the Oregon Supreme Court’s decision. 20 years ago this month, the then-15 year old student killed his parents, two classmates, and wounded two dozen more at Thurston High School in Springfield.
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